Professor Katharine Gelber

Head of School

Overview

Katharine Gelber is Head of the School of Political Science and International Studies, and Professor of Politics and Public Policy. Her research is in the field of freedom of speech, and the regulation of public discourse. She has been awarded several ARC, and other, competitive research grants. In November-December 2017, she was a Visiting Scholar at the Global Freedom of Expression Project, Columbia University, New York. In Dec 2017, she jointly hosted, with Prof Susan Brison, a workshop at the Princeton University Center for Human Values on, 'Free Speech and its Discontents'. In 2014, with Prof Luke McNamara, she was awarded the Mayer journal article prize for the best article in the Australian Journal of Political Science in 2013. In 2011 she was invited by the United Nations to be the Australian Expert Witness at a regional meeting examining States' compliance with the free speech and racial hatred provisions of international law. In 2009 she presented the Mitchell Oration in Adelaide on the topic 'Freedom of Speech and its Limits'. She is the author of three monographs (Free Speech After 9/11, OUP 2016; Speech Matters, UQP, 2011, Speaking Back, John Benjamins, 2002), and three edited books (incl. Free Speech in the Digital Age, OUP 2019).

Kath is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia, and a former President of the Australian Political Studies Association and has served on its Executive Committee (2010-2018). She was Chair of the Local Organising Committee for the July 2018 World Congress of the International Political Science Association, Brisbane which brought 2400 political scientists to Brisbane. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Australian Journal of Politics and History.

Gelber, K & McNamara, L 2016 'Anti-vilification laws and public racism in Australia: mapping the gaps between the harms occasioned and the remedies provided', University of New South Wales Law Journal 39(2): 488-511.

Gelber, K & McNamara, L 2014 ‘Changes in the expression of prejudice in public discourse in Australia: assessing the impact of hate speech laws on letters to the editor 1992-2010’ Australian Journal of Human Rights 20(1): 99-128.

Dunne, T. and Gelber, K 2014 ‘Arguing Matters: The Responsibility to Protect and the case of Libya’, Global Responsibility to Protect 6(3): 326-349.

Gelber, K & McNamara, L 2013 ‘Freedom of speech and racial vilification in Australia: ‘The Bolt case’ in public discourse, Australian Journal of Political Science 48(4): 470-484. [Winner of the 2014 Mayer journal article prize awarded by the Australian Political Studies Association]

Research Interests

The harms of online speechProf Gelber is investigating whether, and how, the harms of hate speech can be applied to online speech. This project will clarify how online speech can harm in new ways, and can harm new targets. This will produce new findings that can be used to assess the regulation of online speech in order to protect target communities from harm.

The internet and free speechWith Prof Susan Brison (Dartmouth), Prof Gelber has undertaken a research project looking at how people exercise their freedom of speech online, and whether (and how) the online environment changes how we think about fundamental aspects of free speech theory.

Free Speech After 9/11This ARC-funded project (2012-2015) compares free speech-limiting provisions enacted or amended in the context of counter-terrorism laws in the US, the UK and Australia.

Hate speech laws in public discourse in AustraliaWith Prof Luke McNamara (Wollongong), this is a large ARC-funded research project examining the impact of hate speech laws on public discourse in Australia since they were introduced twenty five years ago.

International hate speech lawsProf Gelber has an interest in international hate speech laws, their operation and their effectiveness. She has published widely in these areas, and is currently participating in a number of research projects on this topic.

Research Impacts

Professor Gelber is regularly consulted by human rights authorities in Australia regarding the operation and effectiveness of anti-vilification laws. She regularly makes submissions to government and parliamentary inquiries into policy areas including counter terrorism, censorship regulations and anti-vilification laws. She gives media interviews on radio, television and to newspaper journalists (eg Gelber, K 2016 ‘Free Speech and its limits’, ABC Radio National Sunday Breakfast, 8 May).

Dunne, Tim and Gelber, Katharine (2015). Argumentation and the responsibility to protect: the case of Libya. In Kurt Mills and David Jason Karp (Ed.),
Human rights protection in global politics: responsibilities of states and non-state actors (pp. 288-308) Basingtoke, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.

Gauja, Anika and Gelber, Katharine (2015). The French court. In Rosalind Dixon and George Williams (Ed.),
The High Court, the Constitution and Australian Politics (pp. 311-326) Port Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781107445253.016

Gelber, Katharine (2011). Religion and freedom of speech in Australia. In Richard Mohr and Nadirsyah Hosen (Ed.),
Law and religion in public life: The contemporary debate (pp. 95-111) Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Gelber, Katharine (2011). The role of the Constitution in major social conflicts. In Jurgen Brohmer (Ed.),
The German Constitution Turns 60 : Basic Law and Commonwealth Constitution, German and Australian Perspectives (pp. 129-144) Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang Publishing.

Gelber, Katharine (2007). When are restrictions on speech justified in the war on terror?. In Andrew Lynch, Edwina Macdonald and George Williams (Ed.),
Law and liberty in the war on terror (pp. 138-146) Sydney: Federation Press.

Gelber, Katharine and McNamara, Luke (2016) Anti-vilification laws and public racism in Australia: mapping the gaps between the harm occasioned and the remedies provided.
University of New South Wales Law Journal,
39 2: 488-511.

Gelber, Katharine and McNamara, Luke (2014) Changes in the expression of prejudice in public discourse in Australia: assessing the impact of hate speech laws on letters to the editor 1992-2010.
Australian journal of human rights,
20 1: 99-128. doi:10.1080/1323-238X.2014.11882142

Gelber, Katharine (2012) Book reviews: Australian and New Zealand politics: ‘WikiLeaks and the age of transparency’.
Australian Journal of Political Science,
47 2: 326-329. doi:10.1080/10361146.2012.677402

Gelber, Katharine (1999) Treaties and Intergovernmental Relations in Australia: Political Implications of the Toonen Case.
Australian Journal of Politics and History,
45 3: 330-345. doi:10.1111/1467-8497.00068

Gelber, Katharine (2014). The role of social scientists in understanding Australia's changing landscape. In:
The Future Workforce of Australian Social Science, Sydney, NSW, Australia, (). 24-25 July 2014.

Gelber, Katharine (2010). Speech Matters: Freedom of speech in Australian political culture. In: Proceedings of the Australian Political Studies Association Conference 2010.
Australian Political Studies Association Conference 2010, Melbourne, Australia, (). 27-29 September 2010.